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CHAPTER I

THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION

(Rev. 1-3)

General theme Preface To what age does Revelation refer? Salutation from the Father- Doctrines contained in his names From the seven spirits - From Jesus Christ-Source of his power and honor - Seven churches of Asia - Coming of Jesus Christ - The Lord's day - John's vision of Son of man- Description thereof - Mystery of stars and candlesticks-Twofold application of prophecy-Remoteness of Christ's coming.

We now enter upon the interpretation of one of the most remarkable, most important, and most difficult books of the Holy Scriptures to explain, a book which has baffled many who have attempted its interpretation. Writers who do not correctly know and understand the foregoing Scriptures, historical, doctrinal, and prophetic, cannot understand and expound the oracles of this book. A man must needs know correctly the age of the world wherein these marvellous works of God are to be manifested, and especially the people to whom they chiefly relate, and the country upon whose territory these things are to be enacted. Not understanding these things has been the fruitful cause of wresting and making void the sayings of this book.

The great central nation of the earth in the olden time, since the children of Israel were brought up out of Egypt and planted in the land which the Lord had espied for them, which is the glory of all lands, was the nation of Israel, of whom the Lord said, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth"; not because they were more in number than other nations, but because they were the seed of Abraham, the friend of God, and because the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob was their God. The God of Israel is the true God, who made the earth and the heavens, and all their hosts hath he commanded, whereas the gods of the nations, even the greatest and mightiest of them, are all of them vanity, the work of errors, and we are assured that in the time of their visitation they shall perish, even as it is written of them again saying, "The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens" (Jer. 10).

The nation of Israel, therefore, was the great central nation of the earth in the former days, and when they displeased God and sought to the gods of the nations, the Lord employed the nations as a rod wherewith to chastise his own erring and rebellious people. In the days of the judges he frequently delivered them into the hand of the surrounding nations, who oppressed them until the Lord was grieved for the miseries of Israel. And in the days of the kings of Israel and Judah also, he employed the nations to punish them and finally to carry them away captive out of their own land.

A notable example of the manner of God's dealing with his wayward people occurred in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, who, when he had strengthened himself in his kingdom, forsook the Lord and all Israel with him, who became vain and sought to idols. Then the Lord brought up against him Shishak king of Egypt with twelve hundred chariots, and three score thousand horsemen, and people without number that came with him out of Egypt, the Lubims, the Sukkims, and the Ethiopians. And they ravished Judah and came to Jerusalem, and the Lord sent a prophet to Rehoboam saying, "Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak." Then the king and the princes humbled themselves, and said, "The Lord is righteous." And when they repented, the Lord sent word again saying, "My wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries." So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house; he took all, he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. By such means as these the Lord punished his people in these days when they had sinned and rebelled against him; and as he did in the former days, so he will do in the latter days. For speaking of what God will do to Israel because of their idolatries and abominations in the latter days, the Lord speaks by the hand of the prophet Isaiah, saying, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down as the mire of the streets."

Now this work that the Assyrian will yet do in Jerusalem and upon Mount Zion in the time to come, is set forth in the Book of the Revelation by visions, similitudes, and dark sayings. Therefore the prominent characters brought to view in that book of symbols are Israelitish, save the beast which rises out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns; in the different forms in which the people, nations, kindreds and tongues to which he is guard are employed as the rod of God's anger to execute judgment upon the house of Israel. After their work is finished upon Mount Zion and Jerusalem and the people of Israel, they begin to boast saying, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent, and I have removed the bounds of the people and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man, and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth, and there was none that moved the wing or opened the mouth or peeped (Isa. 10: 13-14).

This is the manner after which the Lord says the enemy will vaunt himself when his work is accomplished, after the Lord has employed him as a man employs an axe or a saw upon wood. But then the Lord takes the cup out of the hand of his people, and puts it into the hand of their enemies, as he spake by the hand of the prophet Isaiah, saying, "Therefore hear thou this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine. Thus saith the Lord, the Lord and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken

out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt drink it no more again. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, which have said to thy soul, Bow down that we may go over, and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street to them that went over." These things are set forth in the Book of the Revelation in visions, by signs, similitudes and figures and plain language, as will appear as we progress with the interpretation.

THE PREFACE (REV. 1:1-3)

"The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John."

This book, therefore, is the composition and revelation of the Father himself, which he gave to his Son Jesus Christ, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. The very fact that this revelation was given to Jesus for the express purpose of showing to his servants the things which were soon to come to pass, is proof positive that the servants of Christ would be able to understand it; and for any man to deny it, is to charge the author of it with folly. A man may say indeed that he himself does not understand it, and speak the truth, but a man should never set up his own ignorance as the measure of other people's knowledge. The book is intended to be understood by the true servants of Christ, and is therefore a good criterion for a man to measure himself by, to know whether he is a servant of Jesus Christ or not. And as the book was intended to reveal and make known certain things to the servants of Jesus Christ, it is properly and correctly styled "The Revelation."

It is said, moreover, that Jesus Christ sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. That is, he sent his angel to reveal and make known to John the things contained in this book, which he did by visions, signs, similitudes and plain language. The visions are indicated by John when he says, "And I saw." When the visions were displayed before the eyes of John, he saw, and then wrote and described them. And the signs also are indicated by John, sometimes in language like the following, "And I saw another sign. in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues." And again, "And there appeared another sign in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars": and again, "And there appeared another wonder, or sign, in heaven, and behold a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns."

The similitudes also are those things which are employed to represent something else because of the similarity existing between them. For instance, Jerusalem in her idolatrous condition is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. That is, she is so called by the spirit in the prophets, long before the Book of the Revelation was given to the churches. The Lord says of Jerusalem and her rulers by Isaiah, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." And by the hand of Ezekiel also she is called Egypt, when she has embraced and set up the Egyptian form of idolatry in her land, as was done of old.

While a large proportion of the things contained in this book are shown

by signs and similitudes copied chiefly from the writings of the prophets (for this book is the spirit of prophecy), yet very much of it is couched in plain language. It therefore requires the exercise of our senses to be able to distinguish between those things that are plain, and those things which are symbolical. When these things were revealed to John, it is said of him, "Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw." This furnishes us with two more titles by which this book is known, namely, "The word of God," and again "The testimony of Jesus Christ." "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand." This blessing is for those who read and understand and keep the words of this prophecy, but how can a person keep these things without understanding them?

THE PROPHECY OF CHRIST

This book is also called "the book of this prophecy." It is the prophecy of the great prophet like unto Moses, and it is worthy of the prophet by whose hand it was given to the churches. Its importance is seen by the fact that the penalty for adding to, or taking from the words of the book of this prophecy is death; and if that be so, where will those appear who render it void by a spurious interpretation?

This book therefore may be known by the following titles.

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1:2 and 19: 10

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1:3 and 22: 18-19
19: 10

Third, The Testimony of Jesus. Fourth, The Prophecy of Christ. Fifth, The Spirit of Prophecy. This book is well placed at the end of the sacred writings and serves as an excellent test of the heed and attention that has been given to the foregoing Scriptures. For if a man understands the things contained in this book, he must needs understand the things contained in Moses and the prophets, and if he understands not the things contained in Moses and the prophets and the foregoing Scriptures, neither can he understand the sayings contained in the words of the book of this prophecy. They go together, and the one is explanatory of the other.

TO WHAT AGE DOES "REVELATION" REFER?

Before proceeding further with the interpretation of the things contained. in this book, it becomes necessary to announce the age of the world wherein the things set forth in this prophecy are to be manifested in the earth. That time, or period, is subsequent to the resurrection of the body of Christ from the dead, and not before it, as commonly supposed. The plagues that are written in this book, and the judgments set forth therein that are to be executed upon the Jew or Israel, first, and afterwards upon the Gentile, are called in the Scriptures, "The judgments written." They were written in the law of Moses long before David gave the one hundred and forty-ninth Psalm to Israel, wherein this important declaration is made. And that the judgments written in the law by the prophet Moses, and the judgments

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